OK, no surprise that I got to 4000 posts. It was going to happen eventually although, I got here a little slower this time. JoAnna blew right by me without even waving. So, where am I? Well, I'm in a sort of limbo stage right now. A little bit of everything is going on. The Pyramid of Knowledge is coming together nicely, my shave journey is continuing along but, at a much slower pace mind you. Carrying this shave locker around on my back is giving me great exercise but it sure is heavy. No, you can't lighten the load for me. Not yet at least. I'm getting a little more selective in what I acquire along the way instead of the shotgun approach that I was using in the past. Now, I'm using a sniper rifle to bag those elusive, most sought after, game. I'm also documenting my experiences a little more. It takes time away from doing some other things but I think it will be worth it. One of the things I learned a lot about is the true meaning of a couple of terms. YMMV, IMHO and SWMBO. YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary IMHO = In my Humble Opinion SWMBO = She Who Must be Obeyed (Significant Other) YMMV: In my humble opinion (IMHO), YMMV has turned out to be one of the most important things I've learned other than shaving prep and technique. I can read all the reviews, comments, marketing hype and ask 50 people what they think of a product or a piece of equipment. It does not change one simple fact. If I don't try it myself, then I don't really know how it is for me personally. Time and again, I have very different experiences then what I expected. Some for the good and some for the not so good. I've also found that something that may not have worked for me in the past now works because I have a much better understanding of the whole process or maybe I just wasn't using it in the right piece of equipment or situation. You hear things like, too much this or too little that or I didn't like the smell or I'm sensitive to an ingredient and you all would be right. There is no wrong. Now, grant you, there are some pieces of equipment or products that seem to be total garbage for most people and that's probably true. Maybe they work for some people. I don't know. I do know it only matters how it works for me. There are some products that most people rave about and they must have and will pay dearly for. Again, they're right. It doesn't mean I'll get the same results. That's why it's YMMV. Which brings me to the next term. IMHO: It's very hard to understand what this really means. In my humble opinion. It it very closely tied to YMMV. When I talk about my experiences with a shaving product or piece of equipment, I am giving my personal, experienced opinion. If I haven't used it then I really shouldn't be giving my opinion. I might give an educated guess but I'll tell you it's an educated guess and not a personal experience IMHO. My opinion may vary tremendously from your opinion. My review may vary from your review. But, you know what? That's OK. Why? Because YMMV rules. You are very much entitled to your opinion as long as it is not just repeating a bunch of other people's opinions. Then, it is no longer IMHO. It's OPHO (Other Peoples Humble Opinions). So, all my IMHOs are based on YMMV experiences. I am never going to trash your IMHO simply because your YMMV may have been very different from mine. If you declare Jihad on me though because you didn't like my IMHO well, that's OK too. Everyone have there own IMHO. Now go away and leave me to my IMHO in peace. Finally, there is the following: SWMBO: OK, I admit it. I was one of those guys who was hiding his shaving ADs all over the house, car, garage and work to avoid the SWMBO from finding out how bad it really was. Kind of like a smoker or drug addict. It had to do with how much the SWMBO was making fun of my new "obsession." It didn't help that daughter was standing right there next to her doing the same thing. OK, daughter still makes fun but I just remind her of her Hannah Montana obsession. It took a while for me to explain all this in a way the SWMBO could understand. I had to relate it to how she is with horses. I love horses too but not like she does. She's "obsessed." The point is, I needed to make her understand what this was all about. What wet shaving really meant to me and what it meant participating on this forum with such a great bunch of people. And yes, you are a great bunch of people. Why was I spending money and time on something so mundane and simple as shaving. To her, a bar of soap and a disposable plastic razor was all that is ever needed. What's the big deal. In the end, all the work that went into communicating to the SWMBO has paid off. She now understands it. We still have an occasional issue when a couple of packages show up in one week but that is more about her not getting something in the mail than me getting something. If you don't have a ton of money to burn, then things get said. I spend $20 here and $30 there. I won't begin to tell you what she has spent on horse show equipment, clothing, show fees, horse purchases and training fees. It's a quality versus quantity thing. I get lots of little inexpensive things. She gets a few hugely expensive things. It's a perception issue. The real point to all this about SWMBO is to keep communicating to SWMBO about what you find so attractive about wet shaving, how much this is costing, I suggest you make a budget and stick to it, how much space this is going to take and any other issue that might require a compromise on your SWMBO's part. Let's face it. Very few women "get it." At least through my communication efforts, I can say that my SWMBO is now supportive and that what counts. I can keep on pursuing the perfect piece of equipment or the perfect product according to YMMV and give my IMHO just as long as I keep the SWMBO in the loop and not blow my budget. That's my IMHO and I'm sticking to it.
Thanks Rich, very well written. There's a sticky in there somewhere. Well done and I'm not talkin steak!
